Tap Water Safety Question

[FishOrBust]

I would like to set up a 10 Gallon tank for a betta, and to set up another one for other fish.

I live in the MidWest(Missouri), Our city tap water is not the best in the world, infact, the water company over the last 3 years has sent out a water quality report to everyone in town about the quality of our water, no one drinks it anyway, lol. every once in a while it smells funny also, but then it goes away, and it seems notmal again.

Ok, it says its safe to drink it moderaty over time and it should't hurt you it shows that everything falls within federal guidelines as far as how much metals, and such, but, what is on the higher end is Radiation

And it says its from natural degration of rocks and soil over time, thats what they say about everything on the descriptions of the list of stuff it lists.

I know I would not like to live in it, if I was a fish, but then again, maybe they are not prone to things like that as we are?

My other option would to be to purchase nautral spring water and use that,I can buy it at a resonable cost. but if i do 25-50% a week water change it would cost about $15 a week to do it, i am not minding the cast so much, It would add up, but it would be worth it to know everything was ok.

I was planning to put alot of live plants in it also, and I don't know if the water would have a affect on them either or if maybe the plants would be able to counter this? and make it safer, I don't have any idea?

And what about a revers osmosis filter, would that take out everything? maybe buying one of them for a one time fee would be cheaper in the long run? and if so which one would be the best to use for a 10 gallon.

What would be the best option to do, I really want to have a aqarium, so i am willing to pay to have it.

Thank you for listening
Any help is apprciated!!!!

 

[backtotropical]

RO is expensive and you would need to add trace elements back into the water. I would recommend a de-ioniser.

 

[Musho3210]

RO is expensive and you would need to add trace elements back into the water. I would recommend a de-ioniser.

de-ionizer would cost more in long run and does the same thing....

 

[backtotropical]

My understanding is that an RO system will remove everything a de-ioniser removes plus a whole lot more.

Also, they are not more expensive to maintain. I've used both and the RO is the more expensive one IMO.

 

[Musho3210]

no de-ionizers removes as much as it can, RO removes as much as it can, they both do the same thing in different ways. If RO did more than de-ionization, why do people put a De-ionizer at the end of their RO units?

De-ionization resins can get costly when you need to replace them a lot if you have a high tds, thats why people put them at the end of RO to make them last longer and to purify the water even more.

Get a reverse osmosis unit and some sort of trace element regenerator like seachem equilibrum (however you spell it). Its hard and its not fun to play around with GH and KH and PH but if your tap water really is that bad.....

 

[CarbonDreams]

Hey fish of bust, welcome to the site.

I think the first thing you need to do is check out your actual water parameters. Ask your water company, they are required by law to give them to you. You can also bring a sample to your fish store and have them check your PH, Nitrates, Nitrites and (hopefully) your DH and KH and iron content. If you use a water conditioner from your fish store when you do a water change, you should be fine.

Oh, its probably RADON you have in your water, not Radiation. (although it is slightly radioactive) Its because your town is above a granite deposit that your water filters though. Radon degasses very quickly into the air, so if you were to the night before the water change, put the water you are going to use in a bucket that has not ever seen any soap (make this your fish bucket ) add your water conditioner and then the next day do your water change.

Hope that helps!

 

[CruX]

I live in a 'high radon gas area' and never have any problems, however once it's running through the pipes my water is the yummiest ever according to my neice who drinks nothing but tap water.

 

[backtotropical]

If RO did more than de-ionization, why do people put a De-ionizer at the end of their RO units?

Fair point, but i still think RO is more effective. Why would anyone spend the extra money to get an RO unit if a de-ioniser did the same job?

De-ionization resins can get costly when you need to replace them a lot if you have a high tds

So do RO membranes, and they generally cost more than DI resins.

Anyway, back on topic, one of these methods would go a long way to solving your problem Fishorbust. I suggest researching both and making your choice from there.

 

[Rooster]

How about a water filter ? They are £20 in B&Q for a "plumbed in" version... dead easy to fit, and makes your water taste nice too !

 

[Musho3210]

If RO did more than de-ionization, why do people put a De-ionizer at the end of their RO units?

Fair point, but i still think RO is more effective. Why would anyone spend the extra money to get an RO unit if a de-ioniser did the same job?

De-ionization resins can get costly when you need to replace them a lot if you have a high tds

So do RO membranes, and they generally cost more than DI resins.

Anyway, back on topic, one of these methods would go a long way to solving your problem Fishorbust. I suggest researching both and making your choice from there.

Because de-ionizers are replaced more rapidly, they dont last as long as RO membranes.

RO membranes can last up to 3-5 years, more if taken care of properly. Straight from the tap DI at maybe 10 gallons a week would probably last about 2 months )depending on TDS of tap). 17 dollars per refill. Yearly cost of refilling is about 102. After 3-5 years the total cost would be around 306-510. RO membranes would be 75 dollars within that time, refills of pre-filters would be about 40 dollars a year (depending on how many pre-filters you are using) so that adds 120-200 dollars. So after 3 years of use:
De-ionizer - 306 dollars
RO - 195 dollars.


There are a lot of variables though.

 

[CruX]

I would definitely have a check on your tap water and see if it really is no good.